\\\\\\ warrenpeace dj profile \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
W
\\\\\\
arren Peace developed a strong interest in music at an early age. While most kids save their lunch money to buy video games, Warren was buying vinyl. He’s come a long way from his Gemini turntable and record crates days. Though he currently uses a Serato System to spin, he remains loyal to the roots of DJing. He’ll gladly play anything you request, but you should know that Tupac is off limits.
Most DJs seem to be converting to Serato since it’s easier and you don’t have to carry around a bunch of records. Do you think vinyl is dead? In general, for a working DJ, you can’t get any better than Serato. You don’t have to take too much stuff to a gig; you can get any record at anytime. So in that respect, yeah I think vinyl is dead. But for the avid fan and the avid collector, no it’s not dead.
When did you start DJing? I DJed at my first party when I was about eight years old.
Are there any rappers in Vegas that are getting a big buzz? I’d say The Chapter. They’ve been on Quest Love or The Roots Compilation. They’ve been on some national compilations and Atlantic Records is looking at them.
How did you get into it at such a young age? Most eight year olds are playing games or watching TV. I bought my first record when I was five. I’ve always loved music. You know when you were little and you would sit and watch cartoons? I would listen to the radio and hear a song and be like, “what’s that song?” or “who’s that song by?” So from there did you start collecting music? I would find songs I liked and go buy the records. My mom would go to the super market and the record store was right next to the super market and I would go next door and get a record. I would tell them what I wanted and they would pull out the 45 of whatever it was. I would spend my birthday money on that. What equipment did you start out using? I had a Gemini turntable and a Radio Shack mixer. I’m sure you’ve upgraded your equipment since then. What do you use now? I use Serato. I was basically the first major person on the West Coast to use Serato at a major club. The owner of Serato had never heard scratching live at a major club until he heard me spin it in Vegas. That’s a completely true story. Now, I use Serato, E500 headphones – they’re real expensive headphones, my laptop and a 57 mixer.
Is there a particular song that you hate playing when it’s requested? I want to say anything by Tupac (laughs). I know people are gonna laugh at me but yeah, everyone requests Tupac and sometimes I don’t like playing it. No disrespect to the artist, I’m just tired of playing Tupac. How long have you been at your current radio station Hot 97.5? I started college radio in ’87. I think I’ve been at KLUC since ’98. You also have a website www.hiphopsite.com. Tell me a little bit about that. It’s the world’s largest online hip-hop record store. We’ve been online since ’97. We started as an information website and then we moved into retail. It’s the largest online store where you can buy vinyl. You guys seem to have a real tight operation with the site. What’s your role in the company? I’m CEO and part owner. Besides www.hiphopsite.com, how can people get at you? Email me at warrenpeace@hiphopsite.com Words: Ms. Rivercity OZONE
15